Republicans in Colorado have, at best, a ”fraught” relationship with liberal local news media. Given this history, it’s probably not surprising that when Republicans refuse to talk to the progressive press, they enthusiastically spill ink over it.
To wit, journalism professor Corey Hutchins, in a recent edition of his media newsletter, noted how Republican gubernatorial candidate Victor Marx denied some media outlets access on the night of the GOP primary, saying that his campaign chose not to rely on legacy media to tell its story.
Think what you will about the maturity of Republicans or the news media, their squabbles hide something more important, especially given Colorado is run almost entirely by Democrats. Many Democrat politicians in this state boycott conservative media, albeit not as openly.
This might at first seem to be simple tit for tat, a mirror image, but it’s different in one big, important respect: Democrats’ radio silence leaves a whole lot more questions unanswered than does the GOP’s, meaning whole swaths of the state are without any chance to press those who actually pull the levers of power in Colorado.
Phis Weiser’s favorites
Examples are not hard to find. Marx’s opponent in the governor’s race, Phil Weiser, gives us plenty. In his role as attorney general, Weiser has built a cottage industry (and then campaigned on the same) suing President Trump, with the lawsuits piling up fast and furious. You might look at AG Weiser’s online lawsuit tracker and figure you’re getting the whole story, but you’re not. There’s plenty that he refuses to share.
Most outlets simply transcribe what the tracker shows, but a recent Center Square article (a follow up from an earlier piece in June) tried to dig into the details. If you read either piece, what you’ll note is the lack of any answers to the reporter’s questions. This isn’t due to a lack of trying, as the article ends up being a catalog of how far AG Weiser and his office go to not answer questions.
According to the reporter, the AG’s office is holding back some lawsuits from their tracker, and refuses to answer how many lawsuits are being handled by outside counsel. They also refuse to answer questions about how much taxpayer money is being spent on these suits. Not content with that, when the reporter tried to get results via an open records request, Weiser fought them at every turn, delaying the requests, and then jacking the price up significantly with no explanation.
Contrast all this with what happens if you’re a progressive news organization asking about things the AG’s office wants to publicize (such as the Colorado Sun and their partners at Gigafact asking about red flag laws). Weiser’s office responds faster than you could get Dominos delivered to your house.
When Fox favors Polis
I’ve also heard Governor Polis applauded for being willing to go on conservative media. This might at first seem an admirable exception to the rule. But some careful notice shows Polis is often quite selective about his topics for places like Fox News. For example, fresh off a tweet about the dangers of socialism in Colorado, Polis eagerly appeared on the network.
A careful watch of this appearance, and others, points to a distinct pattern. They are almost never about actual Polis policy decisions, but rather how remarkable it is that a blue state governor did something that Fox approves of (something Polis, the eminently savvy career politician, is careful to put out on social media). Polis knows that more often than not, his appearances on national news will be shepherded by media figures who probably would struggle to find Colorado on a map, let alone have a credible handle on state level politics.
Polis might gladly go on Fox about socialism, but you won’t see him on local conservative talk radio to discuss the progressive bills he’s signed. You won’t see him on the Pro Ag podcast to discuss his wildlife and agriculture policies and appointments. He might face uncomfortable questions on those shows.
Progressive press silence
Unfortunately, the dominant progressive press is unwilling to call this out. And why should they, as it would only serve to highlight their failure in the role of holding those actually in power accountable. It would be a public admission of how incomplete a job they’re doing. Any given progressive reporter or news outlet can talk all day long about their process in covering issues that matter to voters, but there are blind spots. Using myself as an example, I could write about progressive issues important to those living in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, I could even try my damndest to do it well, but there is no way I could do a credible job of it; I don’t really know what questions to ask because the issues important to the people in that part of the state aren’t on my radar.
Unfortunately, the demographic and political realities of this state mean nothing about this will be changing any time soon. With most of the state’s politicians clustered in the blue Front Range, Democrats know that they don’t have to venture into parts of the state where they might face tough questions. They don’t have to appear on the media outlets that the red parts of the state watch and read. Why would they when there’s no penalty for it? No one will hear the complaints from outlets like Center Square over Weiser’s lack of transparency when he can easily shout any story down by talking to Colorado Public Radio.
It’s perfectly legitimate for the progressive press to point out conservatives blacklisting them, but it’s not okay for them to ignore the fact that those actually running Colorado are blacklisting media outlets that the other half of the state gets their news from.
Cory Gaines teaches college physics and is a regular contributor to Complete Colorado. He lives in Sterling on Colorado’s Eastern Plains. He also writes at the Colorado Accountability Project substack.
